Mass exodus of Kiwis to Aussie

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Thu, 22 Dec 2011 6:08p.m.

Almost a thousand New Zealander's a week are making the same one-way trip to Australia

Almost a thousand New Zealander's a week are making the same one-way trip to Australia

By Charlotte Shipman

Three days before Christmas, Lucy-Anne Tokona is sending her youngest son Zion to live in Perth, permanently.

“I know I am doing the best thing because there is absolutely nothing here for him,” says Ms Tokona.

Zion has already secured work as a scaffolder.

“The Government is saying they will create all these new jobs but they can't even get jobs for experienced people,” she says.

Almost a thousand New Zealander's a week are making the same one-way trip.

Helicopter pilot Simon Fiddes is also seriously considering the move.

“There's work around the mines…flying around the mines all that sort of stuff,” says Mr Fiddes.

In the last year just over fifty thousand people – about the population of Invercargill - left New Zealand to live in Australia permanently or long-term.

However, Invercargill’s mayor Tim Shadbolt says there is an alternative to shifting across the Tasman, especially when it comes to the mining industry.

“You can live in New Zealand and commute to work in Australia…so three weeks on and one week off and the pay is exceptional,” says Mr Shadbolt.

The long distance commuting concept is called “fly-in, fly-out” or “fi-fo”. It is often offered by mining companies in remote areas.

The New Zealand Government is yet to come up with a solution to staunch the flow.

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Comments

17 Jan 2012 12:21a.m.

Chris wrote:

NZ will continue to lose working and middle class kiwis overseas so long as private enterprise is encouraged to keep wages down, costs up, and send jobs off shore.

Key and his chums are always banging on about free market economics, but when the market is completely unregulated, it becomes distorted. Instead of competition, we get price fixing and collusion between two or three big players. This is true of supermarkets, telcos, petrol stations, power companies.....the list goes on. It has just been announced that supermarkets are enjoying record profits - any chance that could be due to the massive increase in the cost of food??

Paula Bennett tells us that she is going to get people off the dole....how?? You can't just magic jobs out of thin air. Both National AND Labour are guilty of systematically killing off manufacturing in this country, and the decision to not award the contract for Aucklands new trains to Hillside is the latest example. For an up front saving of a few million (and probably a few juicy backhanders), the government has condemned dozens of skilled kiwi taxpayers to the welfare scrap heap.

And when they aren't trying to kill off a sector, they're doing their best to keep the wages at subsistance level. Take the rest home industry, where employers complain they can't attract good workers. Surely in a 'free market' economy, the extremely wealthy multi national rest home operators would be forced to offer higher wages. But no, instead the governments solution is to grant work visas to people from country's with lower wage economies than our own.

But don't panic. John Key will continue to smile, and tell you that he is working for a brighter future. And right now, I expect his future is looking very bright.

13 Jan 2012 12:45p.m.

Lucy Anne Tokona wrote:

Yes unfortunately it is sad to admit that here in godsown Aotearoa - there is nothing to keep our young and future workers and guardians of this beautiful land here. I now hve three children (adults) in Australia working and another is due to leave with his whanau of four to find a life and better living conditions for him and his whanau. I never thought that I would even contemplate leaving my whenua but alas! this is the plan afoot. Like one opinion mentioned soon John Keys will have an island of his very own there will no longer be such a thing as a kiwi.

07 Jan 2012 06:31p.m.

Dion wrote:

I left NZ 12 years ago, I live in the US and have an easier life than I would have had if I chose not to move. After a recent holiday in NZ I realized that my dream of returning home to live one day was just that, a dream. Sad really as the people of NZ are really special.

05 Jan 2012 03:25p.m.

RobertM wrote:

One of the major problems in New Zealand is that many key occupations are largely preserved for creating employment for ordinary people. There are many industries and services in this nation that would be done better and more fairly if wholesale employment of graduates and the intelligent was adopted as policy in part and the roadblocks removed- for eg police, military, nursing, psychiatric nursing- because there is far too much emphasis on creating jobs in these areas for people who aren't up to requirements of doing these jobs in a modern society. The attempts to lower recruitment,literacy and IQ standards for the military are criminal beyond any limit because all the evidence of even WW2 studies is that you have to be in brighter half of humanity to fight well and efficiency- most of the really ordinary people in the US and British army were too frightened to even fire their guns or even point them in the right direction and the power of the German military is that they only used the good looking and intelligent. The main factor driving people out of NZ is the inability of people to live a free private, hetrosexual life. Intelligent people need privacy. The police and ordinary people have no right to intrude into the lives of the middle classes, the university and the beautiful. New Zealand is wrecked by the belief in the lie of egalitarianism and equality. Progress depends on breaking male working class power and giving women over 15 unlimited sexual freedom.

29 Dec 2011 01:47p.m.

Craig wrote:

By the inability of most people on these pages to spell and write in a readable fashion I think the comment by Muldoon still stands tall, "It raises the IQ of both countries". There is well paid work here for the educated and informed and educated is not a BA from Waikato University.

28 Dec 2011 06:22p.m.

levi wrote:

Im holding a tuis can when I say this! "Privitisation, thats the way forward" yea right! billions of dollars flow from the taxpayer into the pocket of private big business when the average working man looks for a chump change paying job or sits on the doll smoking pot because he has simply given up! Please explain why NZ Crown? we spend billions every year in infrastructure! why do we not have employment and why are there mass recruitment campaigns offshore for skilled trades people?? I smell potential corruption and or incompetance. Q&A time. Thank God for Winston!

28 Dec 2011 01:12a.m.

bernard wrote:

key is the top 5 % they govern for you foolish people . john stuff your low wage low working conditions im of to ausssie two . soon the only ones left will be keys mates , the media and the celebs the rest of us will be long gone .australia they never tell you in nz has strong unions there is a reason for those high wages and good working conditions .

22 Dec 2011 10:40p.m.

Kath wrote:

After graduating last year in new Zealand it was impossible to find work. After 8 months of temping and job hunting I made the decision to move to Australia. After one week I had a job in my chosen field and I'm also better off financially. I think it's sad that the only way to have a career was to leave my home which is something I never wanted to do. New Zealand needs to get it's act together and produce more jobs to keep it's graduates from leaving home.

22 Dec 2011 09:25p.m.

Gerranium wrote:

I left NZ 20 years ago and returned last month for a holiday. I was absolutely astounded at the prices of everything from daily food to hotels to housing. They far exceed what I pay now, and I'm in one of the costliest cities in the world. Incredible. Property prices are completely nuts. How can a country with such a huge land supply and low population concentration have such high property prices?

22 Dec 2011 07:42p.m.

Michael wrote:

Hey Peter, who do you think pays all the subs to the National Party? Our PM has sold out to the big money, probably for some wine and cheese and a new phone so he can facebook on the move.